


Welcome to the Night Vale Archives

by Absolutefandomtrash



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Cecil Oversharing, Cecil is Eye Touched, Crossover, Domestic Fluff, Everyone Gets A Hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Eye Contact, Eyes, Fluff and Angst, Ignore the fact that the apocalypse ended and life is relatively normal, Late Night Conversations, M/M, Mild Language, Multi, Night Vale is where some of the Entities go to chill out, No Smut, No one in Night Vale noticed the apocalypse, Romantic Fluff, Set Post-S5, Spoilers, Tags May Change, Typical Night Vale Weirdness, Warnings May Change, beholding powers, no beta we die like men, so you know it's canon divergent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:00:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24516541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Absolutefandomtrash/pseuds/Absolutefandomtrash
Summary: Jon feels the need to go to a small town in America called Night Vale. Martin volunteers to go with him. They don't know what they expected, but it certainly was not THAT.
Relationships: Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale) & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Carlos/Cecil Palmer, Cecil Palmer & Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist, Martin Blackwood & Carlos (Welcome to Night Vale), Martin Blackwood & Cecil Palmer
Comments: 88
Kudos: 206





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm putting a time stamp on this and saying that when I began this, Episode 170 was the most recent episode.
> 
> About halfway through the first season I thought of how similar Jon and Cecil's statement/news reading is, and I found more and more similarities the farther I got. And thus this story was born.
> 
> I am not British but I will try my best to remember to put 'u' where appropriate.

When Jon says, "I really don't know, I just Feel that I need to go there," Martin knows it's going to be Weird.

He also knows he's coming with.

Jon argues, of course- he never quite lost the weird " _I need to go alone_ " mindset he developed while Peter was in charge- but eventually relents with a sigh and a small smile.

"Don't want to miss out on any smiting?" he half-jokes. Martin snorts in response and takes a sip from his mug of tea.

"More like making sure you don't get kidnapped again." That earns a soft laugh, but Jon still looks worried. "Look, you haven't had this sort of Feeling in over a year, right?"

"Well, technically-"

"Jon."

"Yes, sorry."

"So you haven't had this kind of Feeling in over a year, and suddenly you have this urge to go to some small town God-knows-where in America out of nowhere? Come on, it's called Night Vale! That's like, one of the most obviously weird, spooky names behind 'All Avatars Welcome Land.'"

"There's a town in Michigan called Hell."

"Not the point, Jon. The point is, this sort of thing doesn't happen unless it's big. You _said_ America had most of what we were having, and that they're recovering over there just fine-"

"Which is true-"

"-but the fact remains that 'recovered' doesn't mean 'back to normal'. It might be that the Eye wants you to go check out the situation for yourself, it might be something else. But you need to go, and you're not going to be going alone."

"I don't need a babysitter, Martin," Jon huffs. "I can handle a trip overseas to one town."

"Yeah, you said that before," Martin replies, giving him a pointed look. "And look how well that went." He hates bringing up that incident, hates the look it gets him; it needs to be said, though. Everyone believed Jon when he said he could handle a case by himself because he had managed to get the statements under control before everything went to hell, so they let him alone; the aftermath almost led to them putting his eyes out, consequences be damned. Jon never went alone again.

And now he's staring at Martin with almost the same intensity as then, softened only by regret. Martin stares back even though he _desperately_ wants to look anywhere else until Jon looks out the window of their flat with a sigh.

"You know I'm right, Jon," Martin continues softly. "And... and you're still adjusting. We all are. Which is fine, it's fine, but it's just another reason for me to go. Of course I want to see what kind of weirdness could possibly be going on in America to bring you there, but I also want to know you'll be safe and won't do anything stupid."

"I thought you'd be excited to see me go full Kill Bill," Jon mutters in the closest thing to acquiescence Martin would get out of him. "Do you still have the travel bags packed?"

"Packed and in their usual place." Certain habits form when moving around from place to place at a moment's notice while everything imaginable (and unimaginable) goes wrong, and he still keeps travel bags maintained and within arm's reach. Just in case. "You're lucky, too. I just put fresh statements in for the road."

"You know you're not supposed to take statements off property unless it's for investigating them." But the relieved half-smile says it's not real scolding.

"I'm sure there are some privileges the Archivist has that can get us off the hook."

"I don't know, the Institute's had some pretty drastic policy changes."

"Yeah, but our new Head can probably make it a slap on the wrist if it's official Eye business." Martin puts his empty mug on the table. His hand brushes against a tape recorder and stares at it; a red light blinks happily with a soft whirring noise accompanying it. He looks to Jon, who stares at the recorder with an expression of confused annoyance. Well, that answers his first question. On to the second.

"How long has that been on?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Martin enter Night Vale, and it takes about 2 minutes for things to get weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's be real, 2 minutes is hella long for things to get weird in Night Vale time. Jon and Martin are lucky that the Glow Cloud (all hail) wasn't hanging out at the entrance.
> 
> Also, I'm going to time stamp each chapter because 1. I have the feeling that this fic will fall into "top 10 photos taken before disaster" territory, and 2. new information given each episode will most definitely have some kind of impact on this fic and while I'm doing my best to be as consistent as possible both with canon and this story (and I'll update the tags as necessary), I also want a trail of updates in case any major changes happen.
> 
> That being said, 174 is the most recent episode.

The long drive through the desert from the airport to Night Vale is, unsurprisingly, boring.

Jon steals a glance at Martin, who has fallen asleep (fell asleep thirty minutes ago) with part of his face still squished against the rental car's window. It's cute, though he could never say it out loud; he knows it's not Watching, knows it's absolutely normal to see your boyfriend in an endearing-if-not-somewhat-awkward sleeping position at some point or other, knows if he says it the most likely response from Martin would be a blush and stammered thanks, but something about it felt a bit too intimate to just _say_ out loud. Plus, he quite likes keeping things to himself (not _entirely_ to himself, not anymore) sometimes; keeping cute moments like Martin's breath on the window creating a small patch of fog are especially nice.

Static cuts through whatever song the radio was playing and interrupts his thoughts. Brief snippets of song fizzle in and out from a few different stations ( _country, rock, pop, country, Mariachi_ ) before dissolving back into the white noise. He switches it off with a sigh and stares back out at the stretch of nothing that is the road.

 _This is worse than the last time I came here_ , he thinks. _At least there were trees to look at._

Although, trees might be less interesting when one _hasn't_ been kidnapped, but that isn't something Jon would know. Or Know, seeing as quantifying what is and isn't 'interesting' is opinion, which the Eye doesn't do. The Eye doesn't do a lot of things, which is frustrating considering that they _might_ be something it _could_ do if it wasn't so bloody picky and strict with everything; even after Jonah Magnus figured out that everything is connected and they work better together, it still kept almost all its previous standards for what it deems worth its time. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, since it certainly makes working easier, but it still is frustrating that something that feeds off knowledge can be such a picky eater. Well, the fact he's started to pull a leaf out of Gertrude's book and keeps the Archives in a state of disorganization probably adds to the frustration.

Too bad he doesn't care enough to try pleasing his Patron.

Wait.

He's driving.

Focus on the road, Jon.

The radio sputters on, playing what might be a collection of bird calls; weird, but much better than static. So he turns up the volume and looks at the scenery for _some_ kind of change. So far no such luck. If Martin doesn't wake up soon, he'll need to do it because the long stretch of nothing is starting to give him a headache. Maybe he'll take a short nap himself in the thirty minutes or so they have left. Maybe less; it all depends on how long the next stop takes. Whatever happens, he can't keep driving.

Jon pulls onto a dirt road leading to an orchard of some kind ( _oranges, and behind them a filed of imaginary corn_ ) and stops when it widens into a big enough space to turn the car around; the owner is close enough to hear their car and should come out to talk with them soon, so once he parks he gently shakes Martin awake. Martin blinks sleepily and straightens up in his seat, looking around.

"Are we here?" he half mumbles while rubbing at his wrist.

"Sort of," Jon replies as the owner approaches them.

"Jon."

"Hm?"

"Are we _here_?"

"We're at a farm on the outskirts. I thought we might do some investigating." That comes out slightly more proud than he intended, but he does feel a little proud of himself. Most of the time it takes someone reminding him several times to investigate (or more often than not, send someone to investigate), and his only use in investigations is being able to get the truth out of them. Which is why he rarely goes, why he rarely speaks during, why he never does the followups, why-

Not the time to get lost in thought. Roll down the window, speak with him, move on to the town.

"Can I help you?" The man drawls. Jon reaches out, gently brushing the barest surface of the farmer's mind to learn his name. Nothing. He smiles, brushes more firmly, and still comes up with nothing.

Must be his headache, which has gotten worse.

"Yes, actually," Martin pipes up from the passenger seat. The Farmer (might as well give him _some_ kind of title) nods politely in his direction.

"Well, I'll see what I can do. What do you need?"

"Well, we're from the Magnus Institute, which is in London, and we do research on any weird and possibly supernatural happenings." The Farmer nods but doesn't reply, and Martin glances at Jon with a _you're-the-one-who-knows-anything-about-start-talking-now_ expression. It's directed towards the back of his head, but he's learned to distinguish the different gazes from different eyes staring at him from different directions.

"As the Archivist for the Institute, I've been doing research on happenings in different places around the world that might be useful to document and archive, and there have been a few incidents in Night Vale that sound... interesting, to say the least." He gives a smile that is hopefully not as pained as it feels with his ever-increasing headache. "According to our map, it should be close by, but we just want to make sure before we get lost in the desert." Not a complete lie, since Martin _did_ do a few Google and social media searches in the airport. Compared to other statements, Night Vale seemed normal, but compared to other small towns in America, well...

Orange juice operates differently here. Allegedly.

The Farmer smiles at them and nods a slow, thoughtful nod. He exhales before answering, "It's about fifteen minutes away, and you're definitely on the right road. I'd say when your radio changes to the whale calls you'll practically be there. The radio operates like clockwork, which can't be said about some... other towns in the area." Of course, the small town has a rival town they take cheap shots at; or their radio truly does have a more reliable schedule than their neighbors. "As for weird happenings... We haven't had many since the post office had to be shut down again, and that was a few months ago. At least, that I can remember." He shrugs. "But folks in the town might have more helpful information, them being closer to the action and all that. I'd definitely keep your radio on for Cecil's show; it has news in real time. Sorry I can't be more helpful."

"Could you tell us what happened at the post office?" Martin asks, glancing up from his phone where he was taking notes. When did he start taking notes? Damn Eye. Damn headache.

"I wasn't there- haven't needed to use it 'cause all of my mail is delivered here- but I talked with Josie and according to her and her Erika friends, the portal reopened and a few people got sucked in, then after a few days it sealed back up. Then the people who got trapped in there returned after a week or so, and they didn't have any side effects apart from the normal ones." Jon and Martin give each other a Look. Martin nods, answering the silent question hanging between them.

"Which are?" Jon makes eye contact with The Farmer; he reaches out again, but doesn't touch. Just preparing in case anything jumps out. Like a name.

( _The Farmer is in his name._ )

A name he can use.

The Farmer blinks twice but otherwise doesn't change the way he answers: "Just their eyes glazed over, some of them returning but with a completely different body than their own, all of them obviously having some part of their souls removed and twisted in some way before being shoved back in," a shrug, "Normal stuff. And normal for you guys and your institution, I bet."

"In some form or another, yes." He withdraws from The Farmer's mind and looks at Martin. "I don't have any more questions."

Martin shrugs. "Neither do I."

"Alright then." Jon holds out his hand. "Thank you very much, um..."

"Jon Peters," The Farmer replies, shaking it. "I'm a farmer."

"Jonathan Sims. And this is Martin."

"Hello." He gives a small wave. "Martin Blackwood."

"Nice to meet you both. Hope you get the information you're looking for."

"Thanks. Martin, do you want to drive?"

"Um, sure."

They swap seats, wave to Jon Peters, and drive away from the farm. While on the road, the bird sounds transition into whale calls, and sure enough the town of Night Vale comes into view shortly after. Martin stops at a red light and looks at Jon, who is rubbing his aching head.

" _Standard_?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this took longer than I was planning on it, but birthdays will do that to you. But, I'm back now!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's left kudos and comments! I'm glad you guys are liking this, especially since we're just getting started!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Martin arrive in Night Vale, grab a bite to eat, and hear Cecil's show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for all the kudos and comments and hits! It's wonderful to see that y'all are enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
> 
> This will be a short filler chapter because I wanted a Jonmartin lunch date and am proud of the intro I wrote. Just to be 100% honest.
> 
> 176 is the most recent episode and I hope 177 doesn't have Daisy's death.

They decide to have a bite to eat before doing serious exploring. They're both hungry, and Jon doesn't want to take any pain medication on an empty stomach; they also tend to make plans over some kind of food, be it a meal or a cup of tea.

And they want a lunch date. Just because they're working doesn't mean they can't have a date.

Mostly because they want a lunch date.

"You're doing it again," Martin remarks. Jon opens his fingers and looks across the car to him.

"Doing what.

"Overthinking things." There's no room to argue. It's a statement of plain fact, which Jon most definitely needs.

"Am I that obvious?" Martin hums noncommittally and pulls into the car park of something called 'Moonlight All-Night Diner'. "I'm trying not to. It's just hard when my head-"

"I know, Jon. I know. Just wanted to let you know and maybe stop it for a bit."

"Well, you did." He unbuckles his seatbelt with a sigh. "By the way, if anyone points at us and shouts 'Interlopers!' don't panic. It's just their way of greeting strangers." To his credit, Martin barely blinks at the statement and nods.

"Right. Well, good to know before I get charged for accidentally punching someone because I felt threatened." Jon's soft chuckle earns a glare. "What? You _don't_ think I'd accidentally punch someone because I felt threatened?"

"No, no, I do. It's just funny to hear you say it with such bravado."

"Well, I wouldn't want them to think I'd just take their shouting lying down." They both laugh at as they walk hand in hand through the door.

"Hi! Welcome to the Moonlight All-Night Diner," the hostess chirps while rounding a corner. She blinks a few times at Jon before resuming her routine. "Would you like a table or a booth?"

"Booth please," Martin replies, and they're led to one in a quiet corner, for which Jon is grateful. The hostess hands them their menus and leaves without explaining ( _whisper it_ ) how to order ( _to the napkin holder_ ) or even when the server will come ( _only if you call and do you really want to call them?_ ).

"Whisper to the napkins what you want," he quietly instructs, looking over the drinks. He wrinkles his nose at the iced tea selection before settling on coffee; he also pointedly ignores the look from Martin. "Whisper to the sugar for the check."

"Right."

Their conversation over lunch is fairly uninterrupted, until the radio cackles with static; unlike earlier, however, it quickly fades out and is replaced by a deep, smooth voice:

"Dermatologists hate it. Fish fear it. Animals can sense it. And you... Oooooh, you _are_ it. Welcome to Night Vale."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Martin meet Cecil. It's... interesting, to say the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On to the plot!
> 
> 176 is still the most recent episode, and it will be during the hiatus. During this time I'm going to be just saying "First hiatus is still in effect".
> 
> I should also probably put the disclaimer that I'm not fully caught up on WTNV but I'm pre-trial of Hiram McDaniels, so if anything happens that I don't know about yet, I'm going to hide behind the canon divergent tag

"Listeners, it seems we have some new visitors in town. John Peters- you know, the farmer- reported that two men in a rental car approached him earlier this morning asking for direction to our little town of Night Vale. The two men were described as being British, around the same height, both wearing glasses, and one of them has a scar on his forehead that lines up with prematurely greying hair to form a crownlike shape. John Peters- you know, the farmer- says that they told him their names are Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood, and they're from the Magnus Institute (an establishment that researches and records strange happenings in the world) in London; according to them, they've heard that Night Vale has had some strange occurrences in the past few years and are here to check things out.

"According to John Peters- you know, the farmer- he gave them directions, the two men switched seats in their car, and they drove off. Old Woman Josie (down by the car lot near the Ralph's) informed us that she noticed their car entering the town, and we have reliable sources that confirm they've enjoyed a quiet lunch at the Moonlight All-Night Diner and-"

"Bloody hell," Martin mutters as he turns off the radio. "That was fast. How do you think they got their statements in already?"

"Eye," Jon replies from behind his hands; his hands are mostly covering his own eyes, which is never a good sign headache-wise. "The Eye is strong here, and the radio host is basically a direct line from the Eye to the entire town."

"As in, he's a proxy?"

"No. At least, I don't think so. Beholding doesn't do proxies, since part of the feeding experience has to be from the individual." Even though Martin's driving and can't see Jon's face, he can practically feel the humorless smile. "A variety of flavors, if you want to go with that metaphor."

"Good enough for what you're trying to convey. So he's an actual human being, and his connection to the Eye is just... stronger? He can just Know stuff without even trying?"

"Yes. Remember what I was like after coming back from my coma?"

"I was dealing with Peter."

"Right, right. Well, I had a beginnings of it during the Unknowing business. When I'd just blurt things out I had no way of knowing about like it was part of the statements or common knowledge."

"Still do, love."

"Well, I do have a reputation to maintain." Jon takes his hands away from his eyes with a playful grin. "I'm in too deep to change now." Martin rolls his eyes.

"Right. You know, when you literally knew everything, you still had a poor grasp of social skills and had a bad habit of blurting things out."

"It was better than before. Turn right here." Martin does and sees a large sign labelled, 'VISITOR PARKING ONLY'.

"You do realize that's not giving many points in your favor, right?"

"It's a few points."

"Only a few." Martin parks and turns off their car. "So, any screaming I should be aware of?"

"Nope. But there is a floating cat in the men's room."

"...You're kidding."

"Unfortunately, I am not."

"..."

"This town is weird."

" _No_."

" _Yes._ " They smile at each other and get out of the car.

Jon's weird Knowing abilities definitely come to their advantage, since they can just walk around like they're part of the scenery; they probably blend in more than other visitors with their own weird experiences. So they head over toward the recording booth and ask an intern ('Rebecca', according to the name tag) where to find the radio host. She blinks a few times at Jon but otherwise doesn't seem phased and takes them to the booth; a man with short messy hair sticking out under headphones and arms covered with tattoos is speaking into a microphone. He looks up at them, doesn't blink at all, and holds up a finger for them to wait.

"...This has been Children's Fun Fact Science Corner. And now, a word from our sponsor." He presses a button, takes off his headphones, and motions them in; Rebecca gives a short wave before leaving to finish whatever task they interrupted. Martin waves back as the booth's door closes behind them.

"Hello! I'm Cecil Palmer," the radio host holds his hand out. Jon and Martin shake is and introduce themselves. "Welcome to our town! How can I help you?"

"I'm sure you have a good idea of why we're here," Martin says while Jon looks (and maybe Looks, it's hard to tell most of the time) around at their surroundings. Cecil Palmer nods for him to continue. "The farmer-"

"John Peters-"

"-That one, yes, told us that you've got a lot of resources on any goings-on in town. We thought we'd pop in and ask." He nudges his boyfriend's foot with his own to bring him back into the conversation and out of his head; he's got the leading lines out of the way, now it's time for the questions.

"Hm? Oh, yes, right, um..." Jon frowns for a few seconds before asking, "Where's your management's office? I'd like to see if they have anything as well."

Whatever reaction Martin expected, he didn't anticipate all the color draining out of Cecil's face and him shakily repeating, "Station Management?"

"Yes. Generally the higher-ups have more access to things, and from what I've seen in the town, they might have answers I personally have." Personal inquiries meaning Beholding inquiries, which Martin would be worried about if Management apparently wasn't terrifying. Well, more worried about and _definitely_ insisting on accompanying him to the interview.

Cecil stammers out excuses as to why speaking to them isn't a good idea, and eventually Jon quietly sighs and closes his eyes; definitely a Beholding inquiry. When he opens them, he stares evenly at the radio host and quietly repeats himself: "I'd like to talk to Station Management about some things." Cecil blinks, frowns, then calls Rebecca in with the request to lead the way to the correct office. The Archivist thanks him, and Jon gently touches Martin's arm with an, "I'll text you when I'm done," before leaving with Rebecca.

"Be _careful_ ," Martin replies while Cecil sits down and shakes his head. He looks up as the sponsor segment finishes and motions for a nearby chair with a raised eyebrow. Martin nods and pulls it next to him.

"Listeners, I have exciting news. The two men from earlier just came into the studio during the previous segment," he says brightly. As if he didn't just get Compelled (pretty roughly too, from the looks of it). "One of them left to... well, it's not important. But we do have one of them right next to me. Say hello to Martin Blackwood." He motioned to the microphone, and Martin leaned in.

"Hi."

"Now Martin, what exactly do you and your friend Jon do at the Magnus Institute?"

"Well my boyfriend Jon is the Archivist, and I'm the Head Archival Assistant. We basically take all the statements and documents given to us by different departments and sometimes people who come in to give statements, put them in their proper categories, and sometimes send the employees out to do follow-ups." Cecil nods.

"Did anyone come to you and talk about Night Vale?"

"Actually, no. Jon was looking up strange happenings in the world that haven't been documented, and then he came to me and told me he found a small town in America. And now we're here."

"Well, that's very interesting! I hope you two enjoy your stay here."

"Thanks."

"Anything in particular you're looking for?"

 _What the hell is up with your orange juice and why you all have 'normal' symptoms of being sucked through a portal, for starters_.

"Nothing _I'm_ looking for. Jon's done the most research, and I'm mostly here as an extra pair of eyes." He chuckles. "I'm the one who looks for weird goings-on in the present, and he does the digging around for research." _This is also the closest thing to a real vacation either of us has had in over three years, and we both don't want it to get ruined by Jon accidentally killing someone_.

Cecil raises an eyebrow, a lot like Jon does when someone isn't telling him the whole story. But he simply ends their little interview with: "Well, I hope you two find whatever you're looking for! Thank you for joining me on the air."

"Thank you for having us." He watched the other man turn slightly towards the microphone to signal the interviews end. His pocket buzzes, and he pulls out his phone to see what weirdness Jon's gotten himself into this time.

' _Not in danger but you'll want to cover your ears_.'

Slightly less weirdness than expected. Martin covers his ears just as an ear-piercing screech rattles the sound booth. Cecil jumps and accidentally knocks his microphone off his desk; he scrabbles blindly for it on the floor as the screech dies down and gives Martin a sympathetic look. Probably thinking that Jon's met his doom, which isn't too far of a leap in logic in all honesty. That man has no sense of self-preservation, and it's a miracle he hasn't gotten himself killed yet.

"Ummm... Listeners, it seems that Martin's boyfriend hasn't had a pleasant encounter with Station Management... I'm going to send Intern Rebecca to check on the situation..." Intern Rebecca gives a thumbs-up from the other side of the booth and walks away. "In the meantime, let's go to the weather." He presses another button, and a high, vibrato-y female voice plays throughout the booth. Cecil gives the sympathetic look again, and Martin decides to cut him off.

"Jon's fine. He just texted me, actually." He pauses to let the relieved sigh draw out as long as possible (quite long), and continues, "Um, do you know any good motels in the area? We don't want to spend hours trying to find one where we don't feel like we're about to be killed in our sleep." Cecil opens his mouth, then a buzz from the phone on the table catches his attention, then his whole face lights up.

"Oh! Well, my husband Carlos just said that _he'd_ like to meet both of you, and I'm sure he'd be okay with you two spending the night. If it's okay with Jon, of course."

"To be honest, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who's thought about arrangements for the night."

"Perfect! I'll give you the directions to his lab and let him know!" He scribbles out an address on a slip of paper and gives it to Martin, who pockets it and leaves the booth while the song wraps up:

' _Oh my love, oh my love, your Cinders will come for you, my love_.'

"That's a lovely song," he muses while starting the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Absolutefandomtrash says jonmartin banter rights and you can quote me on that.
> 
> Spoiler alert: Jon and Martin are going to LOVE Carlos. Wholesome science will be happening.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Martin and Carlos meet and chat about weird things in the town, including their weird boyfriends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not September yet, and I haven't gotten to the Trial in WTNV.

Martin stretches his aching back after entering the lab; he's not going to get inside a car for five days _at least_ after this.

He follows the faint sound of a radio into what's probably the center of operation and spots a dark-haired man frowning at a notebook. Probably Carlos, so he clears his throat; the other man looks up, gasps, drops the notebook, fumbles with a bookmark for said notebook, and awkwardly half-runs over to him.

"Hi! I'm Carlos." He holds out a hand, which Martin shakes.

"Martin. Thanks for letting us stay at your place."

"No problem! You guys sounded interested in Night Vale, and I've actually heard of the Magnus Institute, so I jumped at the chance to have a chat." He sheepishly rubs the back of his head and chuckles. "Cecil took the, ah, initiative with inviting you guys, but I'd probably have done the same thing."

Martin laughs. "Well, if it makes you feel better, Jon ended up pissing off the station's management in five minutes, which is a record for 'shortest time Jonathan Sims has put himself in danger and had a consequence.'" Carlos' jaw dropped.

"Station...Management?"

"The very same... Judging by your face, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that when they get pissed off they don't usually just shriek and leave it at that?"

' _To the parents of Intern Rebecca, she will be missed._ '

"...Oh."

"Yeah."

"Is this a regular occurrence?"

"Station Management or interns getting eaten by them?"

"...Both?"

"Station Management eats people less frequently because everyone tries avoiding it. And the interns rarely do, but the position seems kinda..." he makes a vague gesture with his hands, "cursed."

"Cursed how?"

"Red Shirts." Martin has to think for a few seconds before remembering _Star Trek_

"Ah. I see. No offense, but the casualty rate of this town seems pretty high." Carlos snorts.

"You have no idea. Everyone's gone through something at some point." Okay, definitely a point of interest. And a good starting place.

"Like- hold on," he pulls up the notes on his phone. "Like going through portals in the post office and getting your soul sucked out?"

"And the subway, Boy Scout advancement ceremonies but only at a certain level, and the summer reading program. And those aren't including the times people go through portals in general." He laughs at Martin's shocked expression and makes a motion to follow him over to the table he placed his notebook on. Martin glimpses at the scattered papers with formulas he can't even begin to guess how to solve before the scientist sets a different notebook on the table. He opens it to the third or fourth page and points to a drawing of a clock. Martin glances at the date.

"2012?" Carlos laughs again- a pretty nice one, if Martin's honest- with a shrug.

"I've been here a while. But, that's actually good because I'm a good scientist and document anything and everything. And, there's a lot." He taps the drawing. "Case in point."

 _It's only been a few hours and there's already a lot_ is next to it, right above a somewhat scribbled _**Why are they stopped???**_ He flips the page and sees notes about the town's apparent invulnerability to earthquakes, a few more page turns and there's a house that doesn't exist, goes to halfway through the book and there's a town in the bowling alley, a glowing obelisk, and a forest that entices people into it with sweet words. All in the span of one year, all accompanied by neatly written hypotheses, pictures, and several strings of general confusion. He hands the journal back.

"Wow. That's... wow." Carlos nods.

"Yeah. There's a lot more, and it's not just notebooks. Being in a relationship with a newscaster has its perks."

"The kind of perks where you get to keep copies of the daily news?"

"The very same. They're at our house, but you're welcome to them. Both of you." A huge relief, but also yet another weird point to talk with Jon about. That will come much later, though.

"Much appreciated. It's honestly really nice having all this stored in one- rather, two places; it makes a _lot_ of things easier."

"Happy to help!" Behind them, the radio says, 'Goodnight, Night Vale. Goodnight,' and fades into music. Carlos puts away both notebooks before looking back at Martin. "So Cecil generally drives over to pick me up, or I walk home... I'm assuming you still have luggage?" Martin nods.

"If you give me directions I'd be more than happy to give you a lift," he answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm doing my best to get caught up in WTNV as fast as possible so that I can fit in more jokes and references. Thankfully I've got a lot and have also seen three live shows, so there's still plenty of material!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang meets up and gets acquainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the Jon/Carlos meeting we've been waiting for!
> 
> Still August, but I finished the Trial, and I was given the go-ahead to listen to 100, so here's celebrating the fact that THEY'RE HUSBANDS!!!!

The house Carlos directs him to is small, but after years of living in cramped flats it's _just_ shy of being uncomfortably big. But it's a place to stay and _much_ easier than finding a hotel or motel, and if the worst thing about the house is it's bigger than he's used to, Martin will take it. Well, bigger than he's used to and _shockingly_ convenient, but Jon tends to bring conveniences wherever he goes; sometimes dating the servant of a Dread Power has perks.

The tour of the house ends with sipping tea ( _proper_ tea, mind you) on the couch, talking about normal things. Weather, how the trip to America had gone, pets, and then the subject settles on their respective partners; mockery may or may not be involved.

"It _is_ weird, though," Martin comments after the inevitable 'records stuff for a living' comparison. "Like, our whole relationship story is basically out there for anyone who listens to the right tapes. I mean, no one has and it'll probably be a good while before anyone actually _does_ , but it's still kind of weird. In concept." Carlos nods sympathetically.

"Oh yeah, I totally understand. I'm one step ahead of you, however."

"How so?"

"Hundreds of people have listened to our relationship story." Martin chokes on a sip of tea, which makes the scientist laugh. "I know. They still do, but Cecil's gotten better about oversharing aspects of his personal life."

"You're serious?"

"Dead serious. However, there is a value in having it out there; getting to know the other person's side of things as the things are happening is rare. Plus, there's some- actually, hold on." He stands up. "There's one _really_ funny thing." He shuffles away into another room, returning a few moments later with a tape player. Of course there's tape. There's always a tape. Sitting down with a grin, he hits play.

' _I just said, "Neat!" Ugh, how embarrassing! I mean, Carlos is so smart, and he says so many smart things! And I'm not Dumb! I like science and municipally-approved books just as much as the next guy, so I can't believe that's all I could say to him. "Neat!" But... I did manage to ask if-_ '

Martin blinks. Blinks again. Then he looks at Carlos, whose large grin is on full display.

They both burst out laughing, Martin doubling over and wheezing.

"When was that?" he gasps.

"Almost a year after I moved here," is the equally-gasped response.

"That's amazing!"

"I know!" They continue to laugh until there's no more laughter, and then Carlos gently sets the tape recorder on the ground. "So, is Jon oversharing on tape existent?"

Martin snorts. "Jon would literally rather die than admit he has a toothache. When the world ended he had to think about how he felt, and d'you know what he came up with? 'Very sad.'" He shakes his head. "So no. None of that. And I wasn't doing a lot of recording, so nothing on my end." Carlos opens his mouth, a puzzled frown on his face, but is interrupted by the door opening, and two faint voices wrapping up whatever conversation is going on.

"Bunny, we're home!" Cecil calls seconds before entering with Jon in tow. He and Martin share a look (although it's hard to tell what kind of look _Jon's_ giving) and a smile.

"Hi Pooh! How was your day?" The look becomes a Look- a good one, thankfully- and their smiles grow into grins as Jon moves closer to him.

"Happy to be out of the car?" he asks while the other couple exchanges pleasantries. Gently squeezes his shoulder as Martin sighs.

"Very. Did you get anything out of the management? Apart from an unholy screech, that is." It's Jon's turn to sigh.

"Yes. It wasn't what I was expecting, but..." he frowns and looks down for a few seconds, "it was... informative. Sorry, it's really complicated-"

"I understand. Some of the spooky information obtained by osmosis." Jon snorts.

"Oh! I haven't introduced you to Jon!" Cecil interrupts both conversations and turns to Jon. "Carlos, this is Jon. And Jon, this is Carlos. My husband." They shake hands. Martin notices Jon place his hand in his pocket after and bites the inside of his cheek; he's the only one to notice it, however, and says nothing until the topic of dinner comes up.

"I liked the diner, but I'm open to anything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: explaining the Entities!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late-night conversation between Jon and Carlos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a hot minute, but we're back baby! I've been waiting to write this scene since I posted chapter 1.
> 
> 178 is the most recent episode, and I'm almost done with Who's a Good Boy part 2

He wakes up thirsty.

Thankfully, there's water that's drinkable (for now) with no adverse side effects (so far).

So Carlos shuffles into the kitchen to get a glass of water that hopefully only has a side effect of 'stops you from being thirsty'.

He turns the light on, and the person who had just been leaning on the counter jumps and turns around.

"Oh. Hello," Jon says.

"Hey," he replies while moving to one of the cabinets "I'm just getting something to drink. Are you sleeping okay?" The other man laughs shortly.

"Can't sleep." He rubs at his eyes. "I mean, I've had insomnia since I was a child, so this isn't an _unusual_ thing, but I've been nursing a headache for a good few hours now, but it's less of a regular headache than a," he waves his hand to indicate a general subject, which is immediately something to ask more questions about, "general weirdness and eye kind of headache." Most definitely something to ask more questions about.

"I totally get the general weirdness bit, but could you explain what you mean by eyes?"

"Not eyes. Eye. It's-" he pauses, thinking, then rubs at his temples with a sigh. "I need paper and a pen or pencil."

After a moment to think, Carlos decides this is _probably_ important enough to break out a pen from his stash.

"Okay." Jon hunches over the paper, drawing a large circle in the middle before separating it into fourteen neat (not even, but who can actually draw perfect sections freehand?) sections. "Okay," he repeats, "So." He twirls the pen in his fingers a few times, then looks down at it with a frown. "Wait, aren't these illegal here?"

"I have a permit."

"Ah. Right. Well them. The Fears. You know how people are scared of different things?"

"Yes. A lot of different things, which I don't think you can boil down to fourteen parts."

"Well, you can't. Not unless you get super general, and even then. I had it explained to me as colors, so I guess this," he draws a few squiggly lines in the circle, "would be the fear spectrum. And there are... beings that are basically the embodiments of the fourteen main categories." He looks up to make sure Carlos isn't lost, which he most definitely isn't. So he nods to keep the explanation going. "The architect Robert Smirke had a few ideas about them, and he made the list that everyone that knows about them uses. There's the Dark," he draws a black puddle just outside of the circle, next to one of the dividing lines, "the Buried," he draws a coffin by the line right next to it, "the Distortion," a spiral, "the Corruption," a worm, "the Hunt- oops," he crosses out what he messed up, then draws what looks like a fang. "Close enough. The Vast," a cloud, "the Flesh," a bone, "the Desolation," a fire, "the Slaughter," a knife, "the Lonely," a boat, "the Web," a spider, "the Stranger," a top hat, "the End," a headstone, "and the Eye," an eye. He looks up again. "They all have overlaps and lots of grey areas, but they sort of are the bare essentials. If you wanted to add a newer one, there's the Extinction," he draws an arrow to an umbrella, "but it wasn't part of the fourteen and hasn't really developed yet. So I won't really focus on that. You good so far?"

"Yeah. Any reason for those symbols?"

"A combination of other titles and, well," he chuckles and points to a cluster of circular scars on his face, "personal experiences. Having worms burrow into you isn't a fun experience."

"I'll keep that in mind. So how does this Eye cause headaches?"

"Well, that's part of what it is and what I do. You see, the Eye," he writes EYE in a corner, underlines it, then makes a bullet point. Definitely worth the pen, and Carlos can't help but smile at having some good, _detailed_ notes to go over, "is the embodiment of being seen. Of being watched and known so thoroughly that you can't keep any secrets from anyone. Or of knowing too much or finding something out that you're not supposed to." He writes KNOWING THINGS, makes another bullet, and writes WATCHER. "They all have lots of titles, but another one is the Watcher. Or Beholding. It likes things, of course, that watch. Things like, mirrors, security cameras, eyes, and, more importantly-" THE MAGNUS INSTITUTE "Places where knowledge is stored. And these things can recruit people to do things for them, mainly spread fear, and most people call them" AVATARS. "And it's favorite Avatar, happens to be whoever's working for the original Institute dedicated to the knowledge of fear. Specifically,"

THE ARCHIVIST -> ARCHIVE

He's quiet, watching Carlos as he frowns at the last bit. The he looks up, and they make eye contact. "That's you?"

"Yes."

"You're one of these Avatars of fear?"

"Yes."

Fascinating.

"Did you know?" Jon snorts derisively.

"Not at all. Almost no one does at first until someone tells you or you figure it out on your own. Usually it's some combination."

"Why is the Archivist important? Because they keep track of the Institutes archive?"

"Close." Jon sighs. "I call myself the Archivist, but I'm really the Archive. I read and take statement of people's experiences, and I feel everything that happens in them. Archiving it in my mind."

"So who's the Archivist?"

"...You can't tell anyone."

"I won't."

"No, I'm serious." Jon makes eye contact again, much more intensely. "You can't tell anyone. Beholding's very particular with titles and roles, and if enough people said it... it might happen, and I don't want it to. There's been enough trouble with just one Archive-adjacent role."

"I won't tell anyone." Jon stares into his eyes for a few more seconds- just to make sure- then closes his eyes.

"It's Martin. He might have figured it out already- he's very observant- but I don't think so. But if he doesn't know, he doesn't know. And I want to keep it that way." He opens his eyes again. "I get headaches sometimes when Beholding wants me to do something- usually statements- or there's some kind of Entity-related weirdness going on that... interferes? I don't know if that's the best word for it, but sometimes other powers can make it on edge. I don't _really_ understand it, but it makes my head hurt like hell."

Carlos nods. It makes sense, kind of. He'll need to go over the chart (and ask more questions) some more before he can confidently say he gets it, but that's the same with literally anything scientific.

"You said that these fear things like objects and people... do they give you guys power?" Jon nods. "What kind?"

"It varies depending on what your Patron is. I can get people to give statements or to answer my questions, but I've been trying not to do that. It-" he purses his lips, "it hasn't gone very well the past few times I've done it.And while Beholding probably likes people getting hurt, I don't. I and also know things."

"...Be more specific."

Jon waves his hand in the 'something general' way. "Know things. It's mainly just random information- I still have trouble telling if it's something I found out of something I know- but if I focus I can be more specific. That's not so difficult anymore."

"Can I see you do it? The knowing bit." He has to see it in action. Has to.

Jon smiles, then looks at him thoughtfully. "You had throat surgery around December of 2013. It changed the way your voice sounds; higher, mainly. You used to be a university professor before taking a sabbatical that turned into traveling around before-" he blinks and shakes his head, like it needs to be cleared. Carlos lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding and takes a step back. "Sorry. If I'm not careful I can get stuck. Even if I am I get stuck."

"I understand. That's... wow." Carlos can't really voice anything past that. There aren't any terms he knows to describe it, and he doesn't really have the words to describe it in his thoughts. So he'll leave it at 'wow' and look into it more in the morning.

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"Yeah. I'll leave you to your water." He starts to walk away, then turns around. "Thank you. For letting us stay here. We do appreciate it."

"Of course."

Back in bed, Cecil snuggles up to him and sleepily mumbles, "That's a long glass of water." Carlos hums and throws an arm around his husband's waist. "Chatting with Jon?"

_Cecil knows things. Cecil knows a lot of things he shouldn't._

__

__

In the morning.

"Yeah. He talked about fear entities. It's really interesting."

"Oh, the Dread Powers? Yeah, they're very interesting. I thought you knew about them already."

"...No?" Cecil lifts his head to look at him.

"Really?"

"Why would I?"

"Well, I thought you knew about them since you're working with them." He yawns and rolls over.

"...How-I- how am I working with them?"

"You study science. The Eye likes science."

Carlos doesn't get much sleep.

Not with that thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if the permit thing is legit, but it's my fic so Carlos has a pen permit


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jon and Martin have a lunch date to talk about their findings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The shenanigans continue to continue; there's no stopping 'em now!
> 
> When I made this chapter 181 was the most recent episode. As of posting this 195 is the most recent episode and boy The Magnus Archives sure is a podcast

Night Vale is bloody weird.

They knew that going in, of course, and their time yesterday further confirmed that, but there's only a certain amount mental preparation extends.

Giant glowing clouds are past that.

Martin sighs into his lunch (they had decided on Arby's) with a shake of his head. "I can get behind it, I really can. It's a nice touch, you know? Adds to the aesthetic. Apparently it can also just mind control people on a whim and drop dead animals, too. That's weirder, but still manageable. Right? Here's the thing, though, that I can't really get behind: it's _president of the local high school's school board and has a child_. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but that's pushing it." Jon hums noncommittally after a quick sip of his drink. "Do you have anything on it?"

He shakes his head. He'd actually seen the cloud and _tried_ to learn about it, but it caused a sharp pang of static and made his headache even worse. Better to leave it alone.

"I did visit the pawn shop, though."

"Ooh, how was that?"

"Nice. Fairly unoccupied, and the woman who runs it- um, Jackie Fiero- is rather nice. She'd had an adventure in 2017 involving a slip of paper ( _with one single phrase on it_ ) that wouldn't leave her alone until she investigated ( _KING CITY_ ) it."

"Fun. Get it on tape?"

"The whole thing. And maybe a supplemental of me purchasing a lawn flamingo for seven dollars." Martin chokes on his soda.

"You're kidding." Jon lightly bites a side of his tongue.

"I'm not."

"Seven dollars?"

"I thought it was quite a steal." Martin's staring at him like he's grown another head.

"What will you even _do_ with a lawn flamingo?" He shrugs.

"I don't know. But if we get separated, I'd rather like to still have a partner to investigate things with." Martin shakes his head.

"You're something else." He makes to take another bite before pausing and looking up at Jon. "Hang on, where is this flamingo?" Jon finally looks at him with the shit-eating-grin that had been wanting to emerge.

"In its little place at the pawn shop." Martin groans but gives a small chuckle nonetheless.

"You had me for a second there."

"I know."

"You're the worst."

"Know that too."

"I can't believe I fell for that."

"It's because _you_ know me." He rolls his eyes and takes the bite, which is when Jon decides to go for the kill. "It was actually a tiger soft toy."

"Oh for God's sake!"

Jon just smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have you know that it pained me to not write "all hail" every time jonmartin talked about the Glow Cloud (all hail).
> 
> A short chapter, but a little fluff break never hurt anyone!
> 
> Also I am in Texas currently. We have power thankfully, but if y’all could send good vibes our way that would be much appreciated.


End file.
